• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

New viv as a first time snake owner complete - ready for a resident!

R

ryjenkin

New member
Hi all,

Just wanted to post a picture of the new tank I've built for my soon to be first corn snake :) I plan on purchasing it this Sunday at the Midwest Reptile Show in Indianapolis. Very excited... Wish me luck!

All supplies were bought online other than the tank itself. I'm thinking of possibly getting one more hide so there's one on the cold side, warm hot side, and in between. Right now I sorta made a hide with the bend-a-branch covered with leaves in the middle - not sure if a snake would like that or not since it's a little more open.

Also, the digital thermometer on the warm side is just there to double check the analog one I bought is correct - that digital one belongs in my leopard gecko's tank.

Let me know what you think and if I'm missing anything!
 

Attachments

  • cornsnaketank1.jpg
    cornsnaketank1.jpg
    152.9 KB · Views: 186
Nanci said:
Looks great! Are you getting an older snake, or a baby?
Click to expand...

Not sure yet! I've read the pros and cons of getting a hatchling versus yearling and I could go both ways. The only thing that somewhat worries me about a hatchling is that I'm not sure how the food sizing works... it seems like I'd have to gradually ramp up the size of the mice and couldn't just buy a big bag of pinkies... unlike with a yearling where the size of their food will be relatively constant.

I'm guessing a hatchling is going to be more numerous at the show considering the time of the season it is - so I guess I'll be more likely to get a younger one.

I've came across quite a few of your posts in my research here - you've been a big help :) thanks!
 
IMO, baby snakes are cute but older snakes are way more fun!!

Who is out watching TV with me tonight? My second snake ever!
 
Nanci said:
IMO, baby snakes are cute but older snakes are way more fun!!

Who is out watching TV with me tonight? My second snake ever!
Click to expand...

I don't have the greatest idea of exactly how big an adult is, but I have seen a few hatchlings in person at local pet stores.

In your opinion, would my 20 gallon long tank and the size of hides I got be big enough for an adult?
 
The tank is big enough for an adult. The hides are appropriately-sized for a juvenile.
 
It looks really good! To add a few more hides you could just use toilet paper rolls.. corns really like those. If you want the to look a little nicer in the tank you can put them under the aspen and cover them.. that way they kind of just look more like a landscape, almost like natural tunnels.

You really can't beat a paper towel rolls, when if comes to chosing between expensive pretty hides and the good 'ol roll, snakes will be found curling up in their roll more often than not!

You could also add some kind of wood piece so the snake can climb. It will probably explore that option especially since you have some fake plants as cover. It really depends on the snake though.. some are climbers, some are not.

Great job so far, looks like you have all your bases covered. One more tool that might be a good benefit for you is a temperature radar gun. You can easily spot check temperatures in all of your different hides that way. It's an easy way to immediately know what the temperature is in various areas and hides, and that is probably a good idea for a larger tank.

I'm sure your snake will love it in there! Might take a little bit for him or her to feel comfortable in there, especially if you get a baby, but I think you have all the bases covered and your snake will do fine. It also looks like the lid has groves so that it can snap in place. That is a VERY good choice for a corn snake.

Good luck, and be sure to post pictures for us of your new arrival!! :cheers:
 
Nanci said:
IMO, baby snakes are cute but older snakes are way more fun!!
Click to expand...

I agree with her! I just got my snake yesterday, a beautiful adult snow. I was going to get a butter hatchling but the size scared me a little...gummy worms are bigger than they are!
 
atmox said:
Probably a stupid question but you do have a well closing lid, don't you?
Click to expand...

Yes, there's definitely a lid :) This is a Zilla Critter Cage with the convenient plastic locks in the back for the screen. There's even a spot for a padlock at the front in case my guy sprouts huge muscles and goes on a rampage.

Yes indeed, I'm back from the reptile show, and I got a boy corn snake :D He's an Ultramel Sunglow Motley hatched in October of 2008, still pretty small with lots of room for me to watch him grow. He's very pretty :) er... I mean handsome. Studly.

The Midwest Reptile Show was very fun, both way bigger and more crowded than I expected. We almost came back with a sister for my 3 year old leopard gecko... But we resisted until next time. I can see myself getting into trouble at these shows with a buffet of beautiful reptiles...

Without further ado, I present my first two pictures. The first one is in the car on our way home, and the second one is him in his new home... hidden very, very well beneath the substrate... (Hidden so well we can only see his pure white belly - but at least I know he's there!)

I'll post in the Photos forum after a few days when he decides to make an appearance on the surface and explore his new home, and put the link to that post in this thread!

Thanks for the comments and advice, everyone... I'm now officially a snake owner :)
 

Attachments

  • photo(5).JPG
    photo(5).JPG
    123.6 KB · Views: 138
  • photo(4).JPG
    photo(4).JPG
    112.1 KB · Views: 138
Oooh, those pictures bring back memories of the day i got my first snake! I sat in front of his viv for 2 hours watching him explore xD
 
RepLover1022 said:
He's handsome!!! Question, what did u use to lift your tank?
Click to expand...

Those are actually wooden coasters from Bed Bath and Beyond. I've got two different stacks of four coasters each under there. I'm using them because my under the tank heater was a little too hot and I've got some cardboard pieces as insulation between the pad and the cage. Plus it happened to be convenient for viewing my new burrower!
 
Gorgeous!! He looks so much like my motley! Must be the sunglow in mine. haha. Good pick!
 
Do you have a dimmer to control the heater? I use dimmers on my three snakes and check them every time I leave the house, enter the house, or when my three year old son goes anywhere near the tanks.
 
Dreamsnake said:
Do you have a dimmer to control the heater? I use dimmers on my three snakes and check them every time I leave the house, enter the house, or when my three year old son goes anywhere near the tanks.
Click to expand...

I already had a thermostat for my leopard gecko for the past few years, the Repti Therm 500R. It can power two different under tank heaters, and to save some money I'm using it for both my snake and the leopard gecko tanks. Since it can only control the heating pads as one, I've got the temperature probe in my gecko's cage since it wants to be higher, around 90. So, to diffuse the heat for my snake, I elevated the cage and the bottom stays around 85ish.

Also, now that I've had this guy for a week, I had my first handling session with him! As promised, I've made my first post in the Photos forum, enjoy:

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1359649&postcount=1
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top